"Not quite the Great White Way"

While Broadway may conjure up images of high-budget shows and queues of tourists, West Broadway has a long way to go before it reaches the glitz, gaudiness, and glamour of its midtown counterpart. This street, running from Tribeca to Houston Street, has a distinct downtown vibe. An area less frequented by tourists than the eternally-swamped West Village, the parts of Tribeca bordered by West Broadway are far less "trendy" than they were in their '90's heyday, but still maintain a unique minimalist charm not found elsewhere in New York. The nightlife here is constantly happening - if catering to a more mature, well-established set than the blaring pubs of the East Village: check out bars like the Bubble Lounge, Tribeca Tower, Anotherroom Inc, and Canal Room - four of many located along this street. Diners will also be pleased to note the preponderance of good, edgy restaurant fare - from locavores' paradise Churrascaria Plataforma and Cercle Rouge to laid-back Trigo. While night owls should flock to this evergreen location - not dulled by the vagaries of "in" and "out" that so crippled the Meatpacking district - those seeking peace and quiet might want to move elsewhere.

"Something for Everyone"

West Broadway is a great New York street. There is literally something appealing on this street for every kind of person. And, it's not a terribly crowded street considering its location. It starts at Washington Square Park which is my favorite park in New York. It's always bustling and I just think it's pretty cool. And, the fact that it used to be a cemetery and the bodies are still there adds to the spooky level of it, which I enjoy. West Broadway starts out as LaGuardia and at the corner of this and Wash Sq South are two pretty noteworthy buildings for two different reasons, though they are both part of NYU. The west side of the street is the NYU student center which is pretty unanimously agreed upon as a hideous building. It was built on the site of the former "Katherine Branchard's House of Genius" -- a boarding house that considers most of the noteworthy village literary figures a resident at some point before 1970 when it turned over to the school. The other side of the street houses NYU's Bobst Library. It's named after a corrupt Nixon supporter who was an anti-Semite and a child molester. I think this it's pretty funny that they have kept the name on the library for what is a pretty progressive school. A number of NYU students have committed suicide by jumping down the center atrium. And, you can say you're going to the 10th floor in order to gain access. I think it's the labor library or something. 540 LaGuardia Place is the building that building that David Crosby, Graham Nash and Bob Dylan have all lived. There are a few little NYU'y restaurants on the street until you get into the Prince Street / Soho part of the street; but, none of them are really that noteworthy. There are a lot of great shops on the street once you get south of Prince (I love Anthropologie). And, Cipriani is on W. Broadway at Spring. It's too Euro for me and not nearly as cool as the uptown one, but if you're into formerly trendy, Eurotrash haunts, this is the place. Ken's Broome Street Bar is at the corner of West Broadway and Broome. It's cozy and kind of divey and they have great burgers. There's a great vintage shop just a few doors down. And the Soho Grand Hotel is just across Grand Street. This hotel is very chic and has always been trendy. I don't normally like hotels like this, but this one doesn't bother me. There is shopping, beautiful buildings, cool bars and good food on this street. And, it has trees and more of a neighborhood kind of feel to it than most other streets in the surrounding area.